King Zere Bray (right) works with a CPR demonstrator as part of the back-to-school event at the Ella Hill Hutch center.

Photo: Josh Edelson

King Zere Bray (right) works with a CPR demonstrator as part of the...

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Getting just the right backpack was certainly part of the fun for many of the San Francisco students - and for their parents as well.

Photo: Josh Edelson

Getting just the right backpack was certainly part of the fun for...

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Backpacks are lined up on Saturday, August 09, 2014 at the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center in San Francisco as part of a back to school event . Students were allowed to collect free backpacks and school supplies, after participating in six health fair stations. Josh Edelson / Special to the Chronicle

Photo: Josh Edelson

Backpacks are lined up on Saturday, August 09, 2014 at the Ella...

Image 4 of 5

Participants line up on Saturday, August 09, 2014 at the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center in San Francisco for a back to school event . Students were allowed to collect free backpacks and school supplies, after participating in six health fair stations. Josh Edelson / Special to the Chronicle

Photo: Josh Edelson

Participants line up on Saturday, August 09, 2014 at the Ella Hill...

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Marciana Parker (R) receives a calculator on Saturday, August 09, 2014 at the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center in San Francisco as part of a back to school event . Students were allowed to collect free backpacks and school supplies, after participating in six health fair stations. Josh Edelson / Special to the Chronicle

Second-grader Aixa Licea wanted a "good backpack," but not just a good one - she wanted a "pretty" backpack, or more specifically, a "gorgeous" one.

And the San Francisco 6-year-old got it.

The best part was that the pink pack covered in ponies and princesses was free Saturday, part of the annual back-to-school giveaway sponsored by Public Defender Jeff Adachi's office.

The event, at the Ella Hill Hutch Community Center in the Western Addition, was the first of two giveaways. The second will be on Saturday at Youngblood Coleman Park in the Bayview.

All told, about 5,000 free backpacks with pencils, markers and other school supplies will be distributed.

But if years past are any indication, demand will exceed supply, organizers said.

"Many longtime San Francisco families are struggling to stay in the city and raise their children during a time of tremendous income inequality," Adachi said in a statement. "By providing these basic tools for academic success, we hope we can alleviate a bit of the burden on parents."

Lining up early

On Saturday, families started lining up at 7 a.m. - three hours early - to get the goodies.

"There's definitely a need," said Sheryl Davis, executive director of Mo' Magic, part of Adachi's Mobilization for Adolescent Growth in our Communities program, which coordinated the events. "Who gets up at 7 a.m. to get a backpack if they don't really need it?"

To get a pack, children had to first participate in a health fair, visiting at least five tables where community groups offered advice and information on such things as nutrition, dental care and health insurance, as well as brief eye exams and referrals for further care.

"It's just about getting them prepared for school, not just the supplies, but mentally and physically," Davis said.

Margarita Herrera brought her 4-year-old son to the event and had to lure him away from the bouncy house and automated bull ride to get his backpack.

But Delmond, an incoming transitional kindergartner, knew which one he wanted - a Spiderman one. He would not be disappointed.

"I think it's great for the kids," Herrera said. "The neighborhood gets to interact, have fun and get backpacks. The kids are excited and ready for school."

Leaving with smiles

Naeema Omar brought her four children to the event and waited in line while the older two tried to shoot soccer balls through a hole in a tarp, one of a few carnival-like games set up outside at the event.

But Omar was focused on the backpacks inside.

Her kids, ranging from transitional kindergarten through fifth grade, go through a couple of backpacks a year given the daily wear and tear to and from school and on the playground.

"It's good help financially and good for the community," she said.

Donations of money and supplies enabled Mo' Magic to give away 1,500 backpacks Saturday, Davis said, with major help from the fundraising efforts by students from Convent of the Sacred Heart and Stuart Hall schools.

One after another, wide-eyed kids filed into the center and struggled to pick a pack from the thousand-plus blue, pink, gray, black, brown, red, Spiderman and princess/pony backpacks, their faces anxious as they decided on one, changed their minds and picked another.

And then, as they headed out of the center, their expressions changed to excitement and joy.

"That is the best part," Davis said. "They leave with big smiles on their faces."

More backpacks

Another backpack giveaway will be held in the Bayview Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Youngblood Coleman Park, 1398 Hudson Ave., San Francisco.